The sumo squat: wide-stance form, muscles and benefits

The sumo squat is a squat done with a wide stance and your toes turned out, named after the wide, low stance sumo wrestlers use before a match. That wider, turned-out setup shifts more of the load onto the inner thighs than a shoulder-width squat, while still training the glutes and quads through a similar range.

What muscles does the sumo squat work?

Turning your toes out and widening your stance puts the adductors (inner thighs) into a stronger position to help drive the movement, which is the main difference from a standard squat. The glutes — covered in our glutes hub — and quads still do most of the work lowering and raising your body weight, and the hamstrings assist through the hip. Because the wider stance shortens the range your hips travel compared with a narrow squat, many people can also squat a little deeper in a sumo stance before their lower back rounds.

Sumo squat benefits

• Inner-thigh and glute emphasis. The wide, turned-out stance trains the adductors more directly than most squat variations.
• Comfortable depth for some people. The wider stance and turned-out feet let many lifters reach a fuller squat depth with less ankle mobility required.
• No equipment needed. A bodyweight sumo squat works anywhere, and it scales easily by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell.
• Variety for a leg or glute day. Rotating stance widths across a training week spreads the work across slightly different parts of the same muscles.

Sumo squat proper form

Stand with your feet noticeably wider than shoulder-width and your toes turned out about 30 to 45 degrees. Keep your chest up and your weight centered over your whole foot, then bend your knees and hips together to sit down and back, letting your knees track in the same direction as your toes rather than caving inward. Lower until your thighs are close to parallel with the floor, or as deep as you can go with your heels staying flat and your lower back staying neutral, then push through your whole foot to stand back up.

If you are holding a dumbbell or kettlebell between your legs, keep it close to your body the whole way down and up, the same way you would in a goblet squat.

How to program sumo squats

Bodyweight sumo squats respond well to higher reps (12-15) since the range is often shorter than a narrow squat; add a dumbbell or kettlebell held at your chest once bodyweight reps stop being challenging. Sumo squats fit well as a glute- and inner-thigh-focused accessory after a main leg or hinge movement, two to three times a week, such as in a glute workout plan.

Sumo squat vs plie squat vs regular squat

"Plie squat" and "sumo squat" describe the same wide, turned-out stance and are often used interchangeably, though plie squat sometimes implies a slightly narrower stance borrowed from ballet, done on the balls of the feet with a heel raise at the top. Compared with a regular, shoulder-width bodyweight squat, a sumo squat shifts more work to the inner thighs and often allows a bit more depth, while a standard squat keeps the quads and glutes as the main focus. Neither is strictly better — most well-rounded leg programs use both stance widths across a week.

Safety and who should modify it

Keep your knees tracking in the same direction as your toes throughout. Only squat as deep as you can control with your heels flat and your lower back neutral.

If you have hip, knee or groin pain, use a narrower stance or shallower depth, and warm up your hips before going deep. A Cossack squat is a useful alternative if you want more hip-mobility work alongside inner-thigh strength. Anyone with a hip or knee injury should check with a doctor or physiotherapist before adding a wide, deep squat variation to their program.